The Prtector
by Mori15
Summary: The trio meet a child hood friend of Kataras who has connection to the Avatar. What will happen? blooming romances, a born destiny, and an adventure just waiting to unfold. please R&R. rated T for later chapters. my first fanfic. discontinued!
1. Chapter 1

The Dance Of the Dragon

Ch: 1

I every one! Welcome to my story. This is my first story so pleeeeeease be nice. I wrote this story back in season one so yea…its not exactly up to date. Well enjoy the chapter! I'll see you at the end.

"How much money do we have left Katara?" asked Ang as they walked down the dirty streets of a merchant town.

"Four copper pieces and one silver piece." Katara said taking the coins out of her pocket, "it's not very much."

"It will be if we haggle carefully." Sokka said while carrying a few parcels, " I wonder where we'll find a fruit stand?"

As they continued to walk around the path, pointing out shops and haggling for fruit they came to a stage shop where a man was yelling "Come one! Come all! See the lovely water witch as she bends with grace and casts a spell on your heart!"

"Wow! That sounds so cool!" Ang said excitedly, "Can we stay and watch?"

"I don't see any harm in it. " Katara said as a crowd began to form before the stage. They got right up in the front of the crowd so that they could see the show. Not knowing that danger was very close by.

Meanwhile Iroh and Zuko were contently walking among the shops. (Well Iroh was anyway). "Uncle! We should be searching for the avatar. This is a waste of time!" he said sounding agitated.

"Come now Zuko. You need to learn to have a little fun. Oh look!" he said pointing toward a stage shop, "Lets go see a show!" He grabbed Zuko by the arm and dragged him to the back of the group.

"I now bring you…the water witch!" the man announced pulling back the curtain and hoping over to the side of the stage. He then took out a flute and began to play and the girl…began to dance.

She was an amazing dancer. Every move she made seemed to be a wordless song she was singing. She then began to bend a bucket of water, having the liquid take form into human shapes. She danced beside them as if they were truly flesh and blood. Sokka was watching with transfixed eyes. She was so beautiful and talented that he wondered if she were real.

Zuko was just the same; he could not believe what he was seeing. Her technique seemed flawless. Suddenly she formed a large dragon and had it shoot snow for fire. Everyone began to clap to clap and throw coins at the girl. She had waist length brown hair, green eyes, and had slightly dark skin. As she began to bow Zuko threw two gold coins towards the stage and Sokka threw their last copper piece.

Once the curtains had closed the girl went to the back of the stage and changed into her white pants and red short sleeve. Then she went over to her boss. "Nice haul we made today" he said counting his money, "Here you go kid. You deserve every penny" he then handed her a small bag of coins. She thanked him and then walked down the street to her home.

"That was an amazing show!" Ang said excitedly.

"You bet it was!" Sokka agreed.

"I wish I could meet her." Ang said sounding wishful.

"Isn't that her walking down the street?" asked Katara pointing to a brunette.

They began to follow her, but at a distance so that if she was fire nation they get away. As they followed she stopped and went into a small house. They assumed that this was where she lived. "Should we go in?" asked Katara

"If we want to talk to her I guess we should" Ang said knocking on the door.

"Come in!" a voice responded to the knock.

They walked in to find a young girl sitting at a table with four cups of tea, "Took you three long enough to get here."

At this point the others where very confused "How did you know we were following you? Asked Katara.

"I could hear you guys following me down the street. Please, take a seat." She said gesturing to three other chairs," I hope you three don't mind tea made from scratch?"

"No!" said Sokka who had just taken a sip, "This is really great!"

Ang looked around the house and saw a rucksack leaning against the wall, "Were you going some ware?" he asked.

"We move around a lot so I never really get time to unpack. I don't mind too much though.

Just then the bag tipped over and some of her belongings spilled out, "Oh dear!"

"I'll help" Katara offered starting to help pick up. Just then Katara picked up a long silver sword with a red ruby planted in the hilt, "Wait a moment…this sword…"

The girl looked up and for the first time saw Kataras "That necklace…Katara?" She said as the two girls stood up in unison.

"Reasha! Is it really you?" Katara gasped. Out of no ware the two girls pulled each other into a sisterly hug. Leaving the two boys dumbfounded.

Well? What did you think? Chapter two will be up soon. (I just need to finish writing it). Please R&R. I'll see you in chapter two!


	2. Chapter 2

Reuniting and Running Away

Welcome to chapter two! If you liked the first chapter then yay for you! If not then why did you come back in the first place? Well see you at the end! Time for the chapter two!

"Uncle I do not see why we need to speak with this girl. I mean her performance was excellent, but after the show you seemed so serious and thoughtful." Said Zuko as the walked down the street towards a group of small houses.

"There is something familiar about her, but I cant put my finger on it. Just seeing that technique made me wonder." Iroh said.

After the show Zukos uncle had insisted on that they go to see the man in charge of the show to find out where she lived. Was it possible that his uncle knew something he did not? As they walked up to the door Iroh knocked on it and waited for an answer not knowing the events accruing inside.

"Oh Katara! I thought I'd never see you again!" Reasha said as tears of joy fell from her eyes.

"I thought the same thing!" Katara said releasing her from the hug, "When the letters stopped coming and no more news arrived I thought the worst."

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" shouted Sokka in a mix of confusion and rage.

"Sokka don't you remember Reasha?" asked Katara, "She visited our village several years ago. With her dad remember?"

When Katara had said the word dad a change had fallen over Reasha. Her happy face had suddenly showed a mix of sadness and hatred. Ang had noticed and said to her "Did something happen to him?"

"Well you see- knock! Knock!" Someone had just hit the door. Reasha put a finger to her lips and peeked out the window, "Two men" she whispered, "A teenager and an old man, fire nation by the looks of it."

"Zuko! He found us!" Ang responded sounding fearful.

"Quickly! Under here!" Reasha said ushering them under the table, "I'll take care of them."

She quickly rushed to the door and opened it. "Hello. Can I help you?" she said to Zuko and Iroh.

"We were hoping to have a word with you about your performance today. May we come in?" asked Iroh.

Reasha moved aside and allowed them to enter her house. Ang, Sokka, and Katara watched from under the table. "What was it you wanted to ask me?" said Reasha.

"The technique we saw today was very familiar and I wondered…if you had ever performed at the fire nation palace? For you see there was a little servant girl who looked so much like you and did similar techniques." Iroh explained.

Just then Ang got the urge to sneeze and tried to stop himself. Then before either of the others could stop him Ang sneezed and sent the table flying.

"The avatar!" shouted Zuko shouted preparing to attack.

Then suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Sokka saw Reasha drop a small black ball. Suddenly a thick black smoke filled the air. "RUN!" yelled Reasha.

As the trio ran towards the door Reasha ran and grabbed her bag and sword and ran for the door. Just as she was about there someone's hand found its way to her throat and was clutching on tightly. She was slowly loosing the ability to breath and was able to gasp "Sokka!"

Hearing his name being called Sokka turned and saw Reasha being held by the neck by none other than…Zuko! Reaching into his bag of fruit he grabbed a large overripe melon. He aimed and Zukos head and hit dead on. "That's from the water tribe!" he shouted.

Once she was released Reasha grabbed her dropped belongings and followed quickly behind Sokka. "Thanks!" she said as they ran down the street.

"Don't thank me just yet Zukos still tailing us," Sokka said looking over his shoulder and seeing Zuko following close behind.

They turned a corner and found themselves facing…a dead end. "What now?" asked a panicking Katara.

" I have an idea!" said Ang, "But I need Reasha and Sokka to keep Zuko busy while Katara and I try to wear away the wall with that water. Then I'll blow away the weak stones with an air blast" Explained Ang gesturing to several barrels of water.

"You got it Ang!" agreed Sokka pulling out his boomerang while Reasha pulled out her sword.

Just then Zuko came around the corner and shot a shouted to the two "Get out of my way and you will not be harmed!"

" I don't think so!" Reasha said daringly and stepping forward, "If you want the Avatar then you'll have to got through us."

" Very well then." Zuko said coolly. He then shot a blast of fire at Reasha.

She suddenly blocked so that it bounced back nearly missing Zuko. As fast as Zuko sent his many fire blast Reasha just as swiftly blocked then with her sword. Then Zuko sent a blast at Sokka who was completely caught off guard. Reasha was barely able to block it, but at a price. The fire had burned her left sleeve, but Sokka also noticed that it had burned off bandages that she had over an odd symbol that was a light blue. "AHHH!" Reasha shouted in pain.

As Reasha fell to her knees in pain Iroh came around the corner out of breath. He took one look at the girls arm. His eyes widened and he gasped "The mark of the Clans!"

Reasha stood up even though her arm killed and was prepared to fight again.

"Ang the walls not getting any weaker" Katara said bending more water towards it, "use your whistle!"

Ang pulled out the whistle and blew hard. Then down came Appa the flying bison. The four of them hoped on Appa and quickly flew off. "Hurry uncle! If we hurry back to the ship we can still keep up with them!" Shouted Zuko as he turned to run to the docks.

"Oh great! More running." Iroh said preparing to run again, "Wait for me Prince Zuko!"

As the four of them sat exhausted on Appas back Reasha said conversationally " So…I'm goanna go out on a limb and say that you're the Avatar."

" Was it that easy to figure it out?" asked Ang lifting his head slightly.

Reasha just shrugged her shoulders "I don't really know how I knew. I just sort of got this weird vibe that you were the Avatar."

"Well now that the cat is out of the bag we have a question for you" Said Sokka sitting up.

"What's that?" asked Reasha.

"What is that weird mark on your arm? What does it stand for? And why were you hiding it?" asked Sokka, Ang, and Katara in turn.

BUM! BUM! BUM! Yea I know you hate me for the cliffhanger, but you'll just have to live with it. I will start progress on chapter three ASAP. I only have a few weeks though until I loose my laptop until next fall. See ya in chapter three!


	3. Chapter 3

Secrets Told and Friendships Formed

Guess who? It's me again welcoming you to chapter three of the protector! It took me forever figuring out what to write for this chapter, but I got over it and finished. I bet you really want me to stop talking so here you go! Chapter three!

"What is that weird mark on your arm? What does it stand for? And why were you hiding it?" asked Sokka, Ang, and Katara in turn.

Reasha ran a hand over the top of her arm. It wasn't all burnt, but it was a little sore. She finally answered after a minute "The mark on my arm is a symbol of my family, the Clans. It also shows that I'm a…water dragon."

"What's a water dragon?" asked Ang, "It rings a bell somewhere in my mind"

" That's because water dragons play a part in the Avatars life. You see were supposed to protect the current Avatar," explained Reasha.

"How come you never told me this in any of your letters?" asked Katara with a slight hint of hurt in her voice.

"I wasn't supposed to become a dragon. Only the men were supposed to be given this job. I'm the first girl in my family to be a dragon."

"If you weren't supposed to become a dragon then who was?" asked Sokka feeling as though he was finally going to get an answer.

"It was supposed to be…one of my brothers!" she gasped as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Sokka look what you did!" Katara shouted at her brother. She then went to slap him across the face, but Reasha caught her hand.

" Katara it isn't his fault! I guess I haven't talked about it in so long that I can tend to let my emotions get the best of me." Reasha confessed lowering Kataras hand.

Ang felt as though he and Reasha were in the same boat. They were both stuck in a position that they did not feel as thought they could achieve. He then smiled and said "Then I guess your goanna be joining us on our quest to end this war? Welcome to our group!"

Reasha wiped away her tears and smiled. "I will put my life on the line to make sure that you succeed." Reasha vowed as her spirits began to rise.

Suddenly Angs arrows began to glow just as Reashas mark began to glow as well so that you could see every detail. The mark looked like a split heart with two small marks below it on each side. (If you have read Tokyo Mew Mew then you know what I'm talking about. It's just like Ichagos). "What's going on?" Asked Sokka sounding slightly worried and amazed at the same time.

"Were connected…" Ang said quietly.

"No! We lost them again!" yelled Zuko as he banged his fists upon the wall of the ship.

"Zuko you need to relax. We have not lost then." Iroh said coolly while taking a sip of his tea.

"What are you talking about uncle? The avatar is no were in site" explained Zuko.

"Ah! But that is were you are mistaken. See those clouds?" asked Iroh pointing to a slightly shifted bit of cloud, "Something passed through that cloud to shift it that way."

"Of course! Captain! Follow those clouds!" yelled Zuko to the ships captain up near the helm, "You will not get away this time avatar!"

A few hours later as it began to get dark Zuko went to his room to take a slight nap. He flopped onto his mat feeling all the exhaustion melt away. He closed his eyes envisioning the sight on his fathers face when he retuned with the avatar. Then his vision reformed to him sitting in the grand ruler chair and watching a young girl dance before him. He got up from the seat and walked over to the girl, and then he took her hand and looked deeply into her almost dragon like green eyes….

"Prince Zuko?" Iroh whispered quietly while knocking on the door, assuming that he was only meditating. He opened the door to find a peacefully sleeping teen-age boy who was smiling in his sleep. With a slight feeling of regret he shook Zuko slightly by the shoulder. "Prince Zuko! We will be anchoring to shore very soon."

Zuko awoke with a start and sat up erect on his bed "Hugh?" he said drowsily.

"The avatar, we'll be anchoring shortly," Iroh repeated.

"Of course" Zuko said rising from his bed. He then got up and strode to the door closely followed by his uncle.

Meanwhile in a clearing in the woods not far from the river the four travelers had begun to set up camp for the night. "Ok guys the fires rea-OW! MY WRIST!" Sokka shouted as the fire went over his wrist burning it slightly.

"Let me see" Said Reasha who had just finished putting up the tent, "Hmm…yep this looks easy enough to heal." Reasha said to herself. She then grabbed the right sleeve of her shirt and ripped it off. "At least now there even" she said, chuckling to herself slightly. She then dipped it in some water and tied it firmly around Sokka's wrist.

"Gee thanks." Said Sokka as she finished up tying it, " I didn't know you were into medicine"

" Its just a skill I picked up" Reasha said blushing slightly. Sokka suddenly found his hand clutching hers and looking into her pretty green eyes. Just then, but only for a moment, Sokka thought he saw what looked like the shadow of a dragon pass through her eyes.

He then released her hand and mumbled an apology. "Were back!" yelled Ang as he and Katara came through the bushes with small arm loads of assorted berries, roots, tiny vegetables, and a few nuts.

"There wasn't much to be found though," Katara said looking at the small piles of food.

"Hey Reasha are you any good at cooking?" asked Sokka looking at Reasha hopefully.

"I'm a pretty good cook. I could probably make a stew out of this" Reasha responded.

"But we don't have a pot though" said Ang.

"I could probably make one. I'll just need some leaves and have Katara bend the water out of that small pool" Explained Reasha.

" How come you can't bend the water?" asked Katara.

Reasha did not respond at first, she had not expected to be asked this. "You see…when Zuko burned my arm it messed up my bending skills." She said a little too quickly.

"Ok…" Katara said not sounding entirely convinced, but either way she went over to the pool and moved the water out of the pool and near some tree roots.

Sokka and Ang went to find some leave to use while Reasha stared to de-shell the nuts.

A few hours later they had finished the stew and were ready to go to sleep. "That was delicious Reasha!" Sokka said as he climbed into his bed.

"Thanks Sokka, truthfully I was never really a good cook." Reasha said sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Hey Reasha, what are you doing?" asked Katara as the girl began to pull out what looked like a hammock.

"Making my bed." She said coolly as if it were the dumbest question in the world, "I sleep better above the ground"

Sokka watched for a few minutes as she strung the hammock between two branches then hop into it. "Night!" she said turning her back to them.

Once Ang thought she was asleep he said quietly to the others "do you really think she's a dragon?"

"I'm not sure," said Katara," she never motioned anything about this when we were little"

"I think she is" Sokka said starring up at the sky full of stars.

"Why do you think that?" asked Ang.

"Earlier while you guys were gone I caught her eye and I saw something that kind of shocked me." Sokka explained. The others were hanging on his every word, "I saw what looked like the shadow of a dragon behind her eyes."

The others were silent for a moment and was only broken by Reasha who shifted in her hammock slightly. "She's not an ordinary water bender, we know that" Ang said finally, "she has green eyes and Katara has brown eyes. It's so strange."

"I don't think she means us any harm" Katara added, "I really think she wants to help"

"Then its settled, we give her a chance," Sokka said as if this closed the matter.

After that all the chatter stopped and everyone went to sleep, well that is except for Reasha who had heard every word. _"At least they trust me enough to give me a chance"_ Reasha thought to her self, _"But if I'm goanna protect Ang I must overcome my fear"_

Once she was positive that they were all sleeping soundly Reasha snuck down to the ground silently and went over to Appa were her bag lay on top of his saddle. Once on top she hunted around in her bag and pulled out a small green silk bag. She would not take her sword for she did not want any reason to not use her other skill. Then, once again being as silent as a mouse she walked through the trees to a small river and feeling quiet nervous of what she was getting into.

Mwahahahahahaha! The chapter ends here! Did ya like it? Please R&R. the following chapters will take longer to get up since I'll only have Internet access two days a week. (Unless I go to my friend's house). See ya in chapter 4!


	4. Chapter 4

Reasha's Lullaby

Hello again my fellow fan fiction chums! First of all I want to thank a person who helped with this chapter. Lets give a big thanks to…**_Anime Alice! _**She helped me figure out a solution to this chapter. No! I will not tell you what! (Well actually **_Anime Alice_** already knows, but that's beside the point). So yeah…onward to chapter four! Reasha's Lullaby!

_"Okay, remember now Reasha you have to focus"_ Reasha thought to herself as she approached the river.

She pulled open the little sack and pulled out a sword chocker. It was almost an exact replica of her own. It had once belonged to her mother before she had died. Placed in the center where the hilt would be was a small red ruby. "This always seems so easy when I'm doing this for money" she said quietly under her breath.

Meanwhile, not too far from the river where Reasha was, stood Prince Zuko with about a dozen soldiers. "Spread out and capture them!" Zuko shouted to the troops, "I'll be going off on my own." This was more directed at his uncle.

"Very well Prince Zuko" Iroh agreed.

Very soon Zuko was walking along a river and keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of the avatar. Within a few minutes he came across a young girl. After a few minutes he realized it was the same girl who had fought him back in the merchant town. In the light of the moonlight she seemed to shimmer slightly. By the looks of it she was trying to water bend.

_"Ok, face your fears! Face your fear!" _Reasha seemed to scream inside her head as her hands shook slightly.

She moved her hands in a motion to do water whip, but suddenly saw flashes of her past and could even hear the voices from her memory.

_Begin flashback_

_"Reasha run! Don't worry about me!"_

_"I-I won't leave mommy!"_

_**New flash back**_

_"You have to be the big girl while I'm gone, can you do me that little favor?"_

_"But daddy I want you to stay here with me, Grandpa, and mama."_

_"Drown the old man, but bring the girl with us. Ozai will be pleased that we finished the job"_

End Flashbacks 

"NO!" Reasha screamed to the night, "No! Stop showing me this!" she sobbed as the floating water fell with a splash to the ground.

These were the memories that haunted her dreams. Horrid memories that she felt would scar her for life. Placing a hand on the chocker around her neck, one of the memories she protected so closely. She leaned against a tree and tried to stop the memories from escaping the back of her mind. This had happened every time she tried water bending without dancing.

To see her like this tore at Zukos heart. He wanted so much to run up to her and comfort her and tell her it was all right, but he knew he must stay hidden until he thought it was the right time to be exposed.

At the sound of Reashas scream Sokka awoke with a fright. He then turned over to look at Reasha's hammock and saw only an empty cot. "Ang! Katara! Wake up, Reasha's gone!" Sokka shouted into their ears.

"Sokka what are you talking about?" Katara asked sleepily.

" I just heard a scream and Reasha isn't in her bed." Sokka explained to them.

"Wait a minute," Ang said straining to hear a distant noise in the woods," Is that…metal I hear banging on the ground?"

"The fire nation! They're here!" Katara gasped in fright.

"We have to find Reasha and get out of here." Sokka said in a slight panic.

"Right!" the other two said in unison.

All of them then ran off in separate directions to try and find Reasha so that they could get out of there as soon as possible.

_"If she's not with the avatar then where is he?" _thought Zuko as he sat there crouching in the bushes,_" Although she could be a good tool to get to the avatar"_

Reasha felt like an idiot. She was letting her emotions get the best of her again and she hated it. " I can remember now…my lullaby." She said to herself and smiled. What a great memories she had of her mom singing her to sleep at night when nightmares got too scary. There was a rustle in the bushes and she turned to see some illusion elves watching her from behind some trees. She got up and looked up at the moon and began to sing the sweet lullaby that had lulled her to sleep so many years ago.

**Once upon a December**

Dancing bears,

Painted wings,

Things I almost remember,

And a song someone sings

Once upon a December.

**The elves create an illusion of a palace during a party. Reasha is in a white sleeveless gown. Zuko gets caught in the illusion and is in white robes**

Someone holds me safe and warm.

Horses prance through a silver storm.

Figures dancing gracefully

Across my memory...

**Reasha starts dancing while singing. Zuko walks forward to catch her. **

Far away, long ago,

Glowing dim as an ember,

Things my heart

Used to know,

Things it yearns to remember...

**Twirls into arms of what Reasha thinks are an illusion. (Is Zuko). Zuko hold hand and puts arm around her waist. (Reasha is not facing him)**

And a song

Someone sings…

Once upon a December

**Illusion disappears and Reasha realizes he's not an illusion**

" Ang we cant find her anywhere," Katara said once they had all met up after looking.

Suddenly they heard a girl yell not too far away from where they were "Let go of me!"

"That sounded like Reasha!" Sokka yelled to the others, starting to run into the trees near a river. The others followed swiftly behind.

They soon came to a clearing near a river and found Reasha being restrained in the arms of Zuko. By the looks of it she was putting up a pretty good fight. Once they had come into the clearing Zukos head had turned and he said, " There you are Avatar!" A maniacal smile spreading over his face.

" Let go of her Zuko!" Ang said pulling out his air bending staff.

For a moment Reasha could feel Zukos grip loosen slightly. Reasha took this as an advantage and escaped his grip. She ran swiftly towards a tree and jumped onto a nearby branch. "Ok Ang." She said coolly," You can kick his but now"

" How about I even the odds a little…" Zuko said. Just then about a dozen soldiers and Iroh appeared through the trees and by the looks of it rearing to fight.

The fight began with Zuko sending the first fire blast at Ang and Ang responding by sending off in another direction with an air blast. Then everyone else joined in.

As Reasha, Sokka, and Katara backed into each other Reasha asked them " I'm hoping that one of you grabbed my sword before you came here?"

" Well actually…no" Sokka said feeling a little worried now. He then attacked two soldiers who had lunged forward.

"Can you still fight Reasha?" Katara asked her, while using the water whip to knock out a small group of guards.

" You bet!" she said. Reasha then knocked out three guards by using an odd fighting style, "But I need to make sure Ang stays safe at the same time though."

"Don't worry about Ang. He's the Avatar remember?" Katara assured her.

This didn't help much though. Reasha still made sure to keep a close eye on Ang while she fought.

"Hold still!" Zuko growled as he once again failed to hit Ang with his fire bending.

Ang once again blocked an attack with his staff and sent a blast of air at him, but Zuko was too quick for him and dodged it. Then Ang sent a very fast blast of air towards Zuko who was backed into a tree. Sadly yet again her missed and the tree was sliced at the trunk and it slowly began to teeter. As the tree began to groan Reasha turned her head realized that Ang was going to be crushed! "Ang! Look out!" She cried.

As Ang turned his gaze from Zuko he saw the tree about to fall. "AHHHHHHH!" he yelled.

Reasha then took caution to the wind and lunged forward. She pushed Ang out of range of the tree and at the same time pushed Zuko out of the way too. The force of wind from the tree sent Reasha flying against a tree and knocking her unconscious, Ang was also knocked unconscious by shock, Zuko on the other hand stayed conscious. "Reasha!" shouted Sokka when he saw her unconscious.

Seeing that his guard was down a soldier hit Sokka across the head and yes knocked him out. Katara was also knocked out because she too had let her guard down.

" Nephew! Are you alright?" asked Iroh once the dust had cleared.

"Yes…" he said quietly. Why had she saved him? Hadn't they just been in combat? Zuko then came back to earth and ordered to the troops "Take them aboard the ship!" He then picked up Reasha's limp body and said to him uncle, " I'll be speaking to her personally."

" As you wish Prince Zuko." He said trying very hard not to smile.

There yaw go! That's chapter four for you. Did you like it? If you did please review. Here's something to keep you thinking while I work on the next chapter. What do you think will happen in the next chapter? Let me know in your review. Seeya in the next chapter.


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